The Fighter Review

By: Robert Acosta

Cast:
Mark Wahlberg as Micky Ward
Christian Bale as Dick Eklund
Amy Adams as Charlene Fleming
Melissa Leo as Alice Ward

Plot: Boxer Micky Ward struggles with his career, unable to gain the title shot and money he covets. The only way to get everything he wants, he must break free from the one thing that really means the most to him, his family.

Review: Automatically when you hear about a boxing movie you're going to hear things like "Well it isn't Rocky or Raging Bull so it's not going to be good." Hold that thought. The Fighter is a surprisingly great movie, maybe not in the same breath as Rocky and Raging Bull but should at least be mentioned in the tier below.

The Fighter follows "Irish" Micky Ward as he tries to take his boxing career to the next level. He wants to be a champion, wants to make the big money but continuously gets held back. He realizes that he's not the main source of the problem but his family, mother and brother mostly, who stall his career. When his half brother, boxer Dick Ecklund, gets into major trouble and his new girlfriend adds a new depth to his life, Ward cuts himself off from the family and finds himself progressing.

Mark Wahlberg plays Micky Ward and honestly does a very good job of it. The look bothered me a bit, but it was mostly spot on, especially in the ring. Wahlberg doesn't have too many tremendous performances but this one has to be placed right there at the top. He provides the raw emotion that a role like this absolutely needed. He also manages to have amazing chemistry with Bale as Ecklund and Adams as Charlene, and that made everything just 10 times better.

Though The Fighter is mostly about Ward, you do get a lot of personal time with Dick Ecklund, played by Christian Bale. At first, Bale's performance came off to me like overdone, not as strong as Wahlbergs and things of that nature. If you watch the end credits, you see the real Micky Ward and Dick Ecklund commenting on the movie and then you realize, Bale played Dick Ecklund perfectly. There is a lot of Oscar award talk around this movie and Christian Bale may very well be up for a supporting role award.

Then you got the females, who are just as vital to the story as anyone. The sexy Amy Adams plays Wahlberg's girlfriend, Charlene. She ends up being the turning point for Ward in the movie, where he starts to see things clearly. Adams shows a fire to her in this film that I never thought i'd see and it was fantastic. Definitely her best performance as well.

As for the story and the boxing itself, it's mostly spot on. For the movies sake, they had to cut their movie at a certain point and make things a little more interesting. A couple things did bother me about the story and boxing they featured. I know, because of limitations certain things couldn't make it in the movie. Micky Ward's legacy isn't so much about him winning a championship because he'll always be remembered for his fights against Arturo Gatti. Unfortunately, Gatti died about a year ago so he was merely mentioned. Now a solution to this could have been to show some video of the fights at the end, so that people can see the real legacy. Also, the boxing was too good. What I mean is, they tried to make it so much like Rocky that it didn't look genuine. While, the people in my theater were caught up in the fighting and very much cheering and clapping for it, it was very much like Rocky. Just show boxing for what it is, rather than build it up to be something it's not.

Overall, The Fighter is one of the stronger movies of the year. All around great efforts from everyone, including the mother of Micky Ward in the film who I barely mentioned(May also get some awards for her performance). Go see The Fighter, it's more than worth it.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5